Nicaragua violence against protesters
Nicaragua’s government committed human rights violations and turned a blind eye while armed mobs rounded up protesters, some of who were later raped with rifles and tortured in detention, the UN human rights office said in a report on Wednesday.
It documented human rights violations between April 18 and August 18, including the disproportionate use of force and extrajudicial killings by the police, disappearances, widespread arbitrary detentions and instances of torture and sexual violence in detention centres.
“Repression and retaliation against demonstrators continue in Nicaragua as the world looks away,” UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement.
The report said the UN Human Rights Council, which meets next month, should consider setting up an international inquiry or truth commission to prevent the situation getting worse, although “the chilling effect of repression” and a “a climate of widespread terror” had already silenced many of the protesters.
Detainees were tortured with Taser guns, barbed wire, beatings and attempted strangulation, it said.
“Some women have been subject to sexual violence, including rape, and described threats of sexual abuse as common. Male detainees also mentioned cases of rape, including rape with rifles and other objects,” the report said.
The violent crackdown on protests against President Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist guerilla leader, have drawn international condemnation. The UN report said over 300 people had been killed and 2,000 injured.
After the protests began in April, people associated with the ruling Sandinista party were mobilised into “shock forces” or “mobs” to attack peaceful protesters, it said.
The UN also had accounts of pro-government armed groups, trained by former gang members and retired soldiers, arresting protesters throughout the country.
“These armed elements are reportedly well trained and equipped with vehicles, military equipment and weapons,” it said.
Ortega said in a TV interview with Euronews on July 20 that the groups were “voluntary police” on “special missions”, and they operated undercover for security reasons, the report said.
The UN said it had been in regular contact with Nicaragua’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs but had faced obstacles to its work.